Temporary Final
by Lovina R. Vargas
Summary: After the long and cruel war, all the countries in the world feel as if life is completely meaningless and that they should just give up on themselves and everyone else. That is until Italy wanders off in the woods and finds something rather...shocking to his own, child-like mind. This could be the start of a perfect beginnning!
1. Chapter 1

Temporary Final

The war was over, battles forgotten, alliances broken and enemies gone. The Allied and Axis forces have all departed and decided to move on to just being normal countries. America and the United Kingdom had always felt the need to be apart from each other when they were forced to both be involved in the Allies during both World Wars, now they really were separated from each other and they didn't know what else to do.

Germany decided, without telling anyone, that he was going to leave to sail across the ocean blue and stay away for a while, or maybe even forever. Spain and Romano have also been severed from one another for a long time now though they really didn't plan to be.

Russia was now alone and had to deal with his sister, the real psychotic one, Belarus who attempted to continue on forcing him to marry her. Russia hasn't spoken to anyone else about it for months now.

Some of these countries have either decided to go MIA and just leave without even reminding anyone about it, or shut themselves out from the rest of the entire world.

And as for everyone else? Leading on to a perfectly boring life, supposedly. The point was that ever since the wars have both ended and people were starting to surrender, the countries didn't feel the need to ever see each other on a daily basis like usual. Without the fighting, the destruction, the tension, the anger, the hurtfulness, the nations were nothing but-well…nations.

Today, it was cloudy and gray in the daylight, and it was pouring rain, while we focus on Britain, sitting at a table in an almost-empty restaurant gazing at the cup of hot tea in front of him. He looked out the window at the busy streets and the miserable people walking along the wet and slippery sidewalk and just looking at the peoples' faces made him feel like throwing a chair at the window and smashing it to pieces in frustration.

_Why is everyone so sad? _He thought. _I mean, sure the war's over and stuff, but we all got to get over it somehow. _He kept reassuring himself about that but all he got was the sudden feeling that he'd never be able to get over the fact that he himself was really sad about it as well.

He calmly sipped his tea, squirming as he took a large sip and burned his tongue with the hot liquid running over it. After a long and hard day, he probably felt like just going home and sulking to himself about everything. And so that's exactly what he did, when he felt like he's had enough of his favorite drink.

And this is how it all began, with just one dismal feeling after another, with each day passing by, and the nations hoping that one day, their lives would be worth more than anything in the whole world.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Germany?" Italy said smiling walking out the front door of his house. "I'm going out for a while; I'm wanting to go see how the other people are doing."

"Fine, just don't stay out for too long." Germany replied not taking his eyes off the book he was reading. Italy opened and widened his eyes in shock.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" he said slapping his forehead. "What time should I be back?" Germany thought for a moment.

"Be back when it's dinnertime," he told him. "It's your turn to cook today." Italy looked at his hands and tried to count how many hours it would be until he had to come back home and cook dinner for them both. The German had almost forgotten how hard it was for Italy to really understand time concept and the hands ticking on the clocks. So he stood up, removed his automatic wristwatch, walked over to him and wrapped it around his wrist.

"What is this?" Italy asked looking at the invention that was suddenly all new and complicated to him.

"It's going to help you remember what time to come back," he fiddled with the watch, trying to set the alarm for about 5:00 in the evening. "It'll go off at the right time for you to return and don't come home any later, or you'll be punished, got it?" The Italian's eyes sparkled as his smile widened.

"Great! Thanks, Germany!" he said saluting him. "I'll be home to cook for you!" He went out the door and gently closed it without letting his excitement force him to slam it.

~ (^_^) ~

Italy's emotions changed strangely while he was strolling across the clean, fresh grassland that had sprouted at the beginning of spring. He missed his brother, and having to deal with his insults and demands all day. He missed how his brother would boss him around and smack his head whenever he didn't do something right or he got really confused easily. He also missed the pinkish blush that always spread across his brother's face whenever he called big brother Spain "bastard" and that look of both hatred and compassion he had whenever he severely threatened him and made himself cry apologetically because of it.

He began to miss his big brother Spain too. Come to think of it, Italy missed a lot of people that he was used to visiting so much. Like Japan, who was one of the nations that had gone MIA purposely, or accidentally stumbled into it. When Italy passed by Japan's house, he had to fight a really sad and depressed feeling that had always appeared whenever the thought came to him. The thought that almost convinced him that Japan might never come back and he'd never be able to receive one of Italy's big and awkward hugs again.

Veneziano felt a tear fill up the corner of his eye, and spill and run down his cheek.

_No! _He thought. _I can't be sad now; I'll just make everything worse! Oh well, I sure hope Germany won't be mad at me if I come home later than he wanted me to. _

Italy continued to walk and filled his head with random, enjoyable thoughts like pasta and cats and cats eating pasta and the really strange cat/rocket thing that always seemed to fly around in his mind. In only about half an hour, Italy seemed to have his bright and shining smile again and his eyes closed, unable to reveal the beautiful brown orbs that hid underneath his eyelids. He watched birds soaring through the sky as he began to hold out his own arms and flapped them up and down to make himself look just like the flock that had just passed him and ran to follow them in their floating pattern.

Time passed as the little Italian was having a great time playing by himself with no one else to watch and stare uncomfortably. He wasn't really paying any attention to where he was taking himself, but he looked ahead and saw one of the darkest and foggiest forests he's ever seen. Now was the time for his own subconscious to open up to almost anything in his own curiosity, even though it probably wasn't a very good idea. He took a step forward, and as he came closer, the forest seemed even more unstable and unfriendly as it did when he stood as farthest away from it as he could.

Whether it was or wasn't a very smart idea, Italy stepped forward once. Then another step. Then another. He started speed walking towards the darkness that shut out all the daylight and in an instant, he forgot completely about the time and Germany's warning about his punishment.


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, little lonely Russia was feeling so happy today. He stood, smiling widely at the door as Lithuania and Belarus were standing right in front of him outside his house.

~ (^_^) ~

"_Hey, Russia?" Lithuania said nervously. "I want to speak to you for a moment." Russia turned his head towards the small country and smiled at him. He didn't know what to expect, but he was happy to have someone trapped here with him and forced to talk only to him so that he wouldn't be there alone. _

"_Um, I…I…" Lithuania stammered. "I want to know if…" He was sweating through his collared shirt as he struggles to finish his sentence. _

"_Yes?" The Russian had spoken in a creepy tone with a weird smile. That didn't help the poor nation at all. It just made everything worse and even more awkward. _

"_Well, uhhh…I want to…take your sister out...you know, on a date and cater to her because she keeps acting like I don't exist! I want to take her out so that you'd stop being so weird all day and relax for once without your sister bothering you and ignoring me!" he exclaimed closing his eyes at what the man's reaction was going to be. He popped one eye open to see Russia just standing there with a blank stare. He was sorry he even asked him; maybe he probably should've just kept it to himself instead. But Russia just grinned and nodded. The little guy thought that Russia probably meant that basically he could do whatever he wanted that day when he took Belarus out of the Russian man's house and into the world in which she was miserably enclosed in. _

~ (^_^) ~

So on that same day, Russia was saying goodbye to the two happy couple with no regrets whatsoever. Except that when he said goodbye, Belarus came up and wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him so hard, he could've passed out.

"Don't do anything stupid, big brother," she told him. "Don't go anywhere either. Because if you do…I'm going to find you and keep you in my closet, got it?" She smiled wickedly at those last words. The really tall man didn't really care about the sly grin on her face or the icy cold tone in her voice. He wasn't going to have to deal with her all day anyways. Why should he be so worried about her?

"Well, um…w-we'll be back by eight, is-is that ok?" the smaller nation was interrupted as Russia threw his huge arms around him in joy. He towered Lithuania and put a whole lot of weight on his shoulders.

"I could kiss you, right now!" Russia told him. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!" Holy crap! He's completely lost it now! All Lithuania could do was stand there, with the huge Russian man's body almost hanging on his shoulders.

After they had gone, Russia had his home all to himself again, without any disruptions or people annoying the crap out of him. He collapsed onto the couch on the living room, sighing in relief and relaxation. He put his hands behind his head as he thought to himself.

_All right, _he thought. _Now I can live in my own house! I feel so awesome right now! _

Those were the only thoughts he could even think of right now. But as he tried to plan out what he was going to do today, his thinking became more blurry and like something was missing.

_Well then…I bet there are lots of things I can do today, _his thinking continued. _I can go outside, I can go visit Italy, and Germany, and China… _he slapped his head. _Wait, I can't…China went somewhere, and I don't know when he'll be back. Oh well, I'll think of something soon. Let's see…I could go visit my other friends. Oh yeah, I don't have any friends that want to see me anymore. I could torture Latvia and Estonia…oh wait, they don't want to see me ever again. _

Russia was thinking for so long, he wasn't ever aware that the clock had slipped very quickly. A whole hour of thinking wasn't as good time concept as he thought it was. He stood up still looking at the time and still thinking.

"Wait! I know!" his face lightened up as he remembered the thing that had mattered most to him for a very long time.

In only a short two seconds, Russia was walking to the backyard of his house with a trowel, a hoe, some soil, and sunflower seeds. He was going to plant all new sunflowers back in his secret tiny garden for the last days of summertime. He's been hiding his little garden from everyone since he first felt safe enough to plant it without any problems. It always allowed him to think happy thoughts and feel great inside. Ahhhhh, The sweet smell of refreshment. It was so amazing. As Russia planted his little sunflowers, he could feel a soft and cool breeze blowing in his hair and his face. His violet eyes shone with the brightness of the sun that was slowly setting each minute. He sighed to himself.

"I can't wait to see China again," he said. "I really, really miss him and his stubbornness." He cleared away all the dead leaves, weeds, dry soil, and the limping flowers struggling to survive.

"Even if he won't be happy to see me, I really wanna see his face again." To be honest with his own self, Russia hasn't really been thinking about China in months. It was probably because whenever he thought about that Chinese guy, he became very depressed and he would cry for only five short minutes, then he'd try to solve his problems by drinking more vodka each day and spending most of his evenings hiding in a corner, clutching his pipe closer to his chest. But now he could think of the man without feeling so much affection and sadness. The Russian glances at the already blooming flowers that had grown for the last two weeks he planted them. He smiled at how much the middle of the flowers reminded him so much of the little Chinese man's eyes. When he had finished planting the seeds in the other half of the garden, he laid on the soil on his stomach with his hands holding up his head and watched the flowers bend in the wind.

"I love my flowers," he told himself. "They are like little needy children I always take care of." He stood up grabbing the trowel and gazing at the beautiful scenery around him. Russia sighed heavily.

"Summer won't last very long," he said softly. "Soon it will be autumn, and then the trees will change." This Russian has never been happy in his entire life then at that moment.

"Wow, I'm so happy and I don't even know why," he said to himself. "I guess I better be getting inside before I start overreacting." Russia walked slowly back towards the door feeling like he could just go back and think whatever he wanted. So joyful, so cheery was that child-like man at that point that he didn't even notice the running and screaming Italy who was waving his hands in the air with a giant upside-down frown on his face yelling "Germany! Germany!" in various excitements and strong humor.


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since that day when Italy had mistakenly traveled into that really weird forest, everyone has been questioning and inspecting that forest to see for themselves about what really went on there. When Italy ran home on that day, he was so excited about it that he wasn't even sure if it was real or not.

"Germany! Germany, you have to see this! I saw something really weird in the…" Italy stopped talking when he saw his friends standing there with his arms crossed along with a furious look on his face.

"Italy, where have you been?!" he yelled at him. "Don't you even know how late it is!? I was really worried…not that I really cared or anything!" Italy paused holding his hands up in defense.

"I'm-a sorry," Italy told him. "But you really got to see this, it's so awesome!" He waved his hands in the air, hoping that the German would take a hint at what he tried to tell him. Big mistake. It just made Germany think that Italy was completely ignoring his lectures.

"I don't care about that!" he yelled. "All I care is that you understand that you can never do that again! Ever!" The boy wasn't sure about what to say anymore, and that was a shock because that Italian never ran out of things to reply to people. Well, at least not at times like this.

"I'm sorry, Germany," he said softly, slowly lowering himself on his knees. "I didn't know you were so scared about it." Germany just looked at him on the floor for a moment and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't do that anymore, Italy," he told him softly. "Now I have to punish you, just like how I warned you."

Later that evening, Italy had to have his beating, which wasn't that big of a deal. He just closed his eyes, clenched his teeth together and let his mind go blank as he felt the hot stings on his arms, legs, and his bare back throughout the night.

~ (^_^) ~

Things were still calm around the other people these days. It was complicated just to keep in touch with your loves ones or your friends, or even just some random person you've met off the street. But nothing beats a daily exercising event where you'd want to visit your old friends or your old enemies without using a phone or even a text to talk to them faster, right? Too bad Britain was being extremely lazy today to even think about running or slow-paced walking. He could've at least gotten off his fat ass on the day when he had free time to go and say hi to his younger brother, or even Canada. Nope. He just wasn't in that mood today; he was only in _a _mood that afternoon. Britain was asleep on the chair in the living room with a half-open book on his lap and a cup of tea in his hand. Actually, he was half asleep, and not even his loud, open-mouthed snoring would wake him up that quickly. The cup of tea was slowly tipping with the hot liquids flowing up to the edge of the small glass, dangerously waiting to spill at any moment.

The doorbell rang, waking Britain from his nap and making him jerk his head back and the cup dropped on his lap with the steaming tea soaking through his pants. He stood up and looked at the stain on his jeans and banged his hands against his head while he pulled on his hair in frustration and anger. He stomped up to the door after he put off the cup and the mess for later. Mumbling to himself, he opened the door, but there wasn't anyone there. Britain stuck his head out and looked around to see who had played this game against him. There wasn't anyone even five feet away from his house, so he just shrugged his shoulders and slammed the door.

"Damn those annoying bastards!" he yelled to the thin air. "They think they can just come up to my door and ring the damned doorbell and that they're just going to get away with it because everybody thinks I'm so weak nowadays! I mean, sure I haven't really given anyone a real piece of my mind like I probably should have in a while, but it doesn't give people the right to treat me like crap! To make things worse, they made me stain my best slacks…and my carpet!" With the last three words he said, he heard the doorbell ring again, and this time, he was going to _try _to deal with this new problem he had.

Britain had only cracked the door open enough to peak outside, and he pressed his cheek harshly against the inside of his door and chose his words carefully.

"I'm sorry, your appointment with psychiatrist has been ignored," he said, a sly smile pulling at his lips. "Please leave a message after the "beep"-_beeeep." _That was the dumbest thing he's ever done in his life compared to a lot of mistakes he's already done years ago. For God's sake, why did Britain have to act so weird towards other people? This is why being a complete anti-social freak was another big problem that got to the Brit's mind over time and time.

"Brit? You feeling okay?" It was a voice so soft and so soothing that would've made the man more calm and stable, if only it wasn't the last person he ever wanted to see at the moment.

"America!" Britain yelled, angrily slamming the door open. "Did you do that thing before just to get on my nerves!?"

"What thing?" America said, confused.

"Don't be stupid," the Brit continued. "I know that game you play! Pretending to be all innocent when it's really you that gives me headaches and trifles with my mind all day long! You're the one that makes me feel so weak and insecure and like I was never worth something! You hurt me mentally and emotionally! You make me sick! Just the thought of you being here really gets me aggravated. And don't even get me started on the whole doorbell thing!" By now he was really scaring the younger nation with his idiotic performance and all these made-up stories. America laughed his loud, obnoxious laugh and didn't let all this crap ruin his happiness about his own life.

"Dude, I have no idea what you talking about," he said chuckling. "I just came to visit you, and bring you your mail, you know, you should really go check your mailbox every now and then." Britain looked at the stack of envelopes in the boy's hand, and slowly took it.

"You came to visit…_me_?"

"Hah! Yeah! I mean, the hero doesn't just make enemies, right?"

"Shut up! Nobody calls you the hero anymore…I mean, besides you."

"_Hahahaha_! Of course they do!" he was being so ridiculous. "What kind of hero would I be if people that were_ soooo_ jealous of me didn't ever exist?" See? Those words right there…

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Britain said. "You already know the answer! I don't think you'd want me to repeat it over and over again!" That American wasn't listening. He was talking in some sort of gibberish language just to drown out the Brit's voice, and then Britain thought he should act just as un-smart as his own brother was. He started talking in the same language but he used real words to describe how sorry he felt for his own self and how embarrassing America was making this out in public. Damn those two! They should've known better!


	5. Chapter 5

Friday:

_My God! I don't think I can take this anymore! _Romano wrote in his "secret" diary on a partly cloudy day that was a bit too nice for him to stay inside the house. _How can I trust that Spain will come back after his long-term reunion with his friends and "family"? He's been away for too long, he doesn't support me like he used to before. He isn't there for me anymore like he said he was going to be, damn it! But you know, really…what can I say about it? A lot of things I say to Spain are already enough to embarrass us both in front of everyone else! Why do I have to make him just feel guilty instead? Damn this whole thing! Why can't I- , I mean we just live like my idiot brother and his dumbass partner? _

Romano watched as Spain rummaged in the closet to look for something nice to wear on this special occasion. He came out holding a dark, long-sleeved jacket that was perfect…if he was in a freaking mariachi band.

"What do you think of this, Roma?" he asked. "Is it too…?"

"Yeah, it is," Romano said not letting him finish. "It looks like total shit! You should trust me on this, I ain't lying." Spain grimaced slightly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Spain told him. "I'll go look for something a little more…appealing." As he hid himself into the closet looking through both sides of the racks, Romano silently smacked his forehead and bit his lip. He continued writing.

_You know, I really don't get that bastard Spain at all most of the time. I mean, I can be a total ass to him and punch him in the chest and insult him like there was no tomorrow, but what does he do? He only grows even more affectionate towards my ass and worships the ground I walk on almost every day. What happened to all the arguments we had when I was a kid? Hell! If it were either Prussia or France, or someone else that I had acted like this to while I was growing up, let's just say by now I would've been more scared and intimidated by them than they were of me. Who am I freaking kidding? No one has ever feared my face before in all the years I've been living. Ever._

Spain came back out with three shirts. As he showed each of them to Romano and asked what he thought of them now, Romano only had one thing to describe each of them.

"Ugly! Stupid! Ugh! Totally out of freaking season!" he said frustrated that Spain had no fashion sense. "Where the hell did you get those hideous things anyway? They all look like they were sold for only 99 cents!" Spain chuckled.

"Well, I'm sorry you think that, Roma," the Italian looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Because these are all your shirts!"

"What? No, they ain't," Romano replied nastily. "My shirts are sexy and only make _me _look better! I think my tops are all actually starting to show off my new muscles, damn it all!" The Spaniard laughed heartily and went back in the small room, beaming.

_See what I mean? _Romano wrote on. _He just smiled at me! That's the stupidest thing he's ever done all day, outstandingly. _

"So, are you going to miss me while I'm gone?" Spain asked through the room. Romano had to think for a moment. How could he acknowledge his only friend his answer without messing it up like always? It only took him one millisecond to know exactly how to reply. There was no way in hell that he was going to be positive about it, though.

"Hah! Of course I won't, bastard!" he said. "I haven't missed you all the other times you were out of my life, huh?"

"What? Really?" the man said, standing next to the door to the closet. "How come?" There was a minor silence. A nervous, minor silence between them.

"Well…be-because…y-you never really thought about me when you were out there in the open with everyone else, right?" the henchman responded. Spain shook his head, both stunned and sad that his only little friend, whom he's known for a very long time, had said those words that mean hate and cruelty towards his delicate heart.

"You really think that during all those hard times I've had away from you, I have never been distracted from all the things happening around me by only just thinking of the sound of your name?" Spain said.

"Th-that's right! I know exactly how you feel about me," Roma told him. "It's because of my stupid, insignificant little brother and my damned personality, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Romano turned his head and tried to avoid the beautiful green eyes on that brilliant and sly mind of his boss.

"You know exactly what I mean." he reminded him.

"I swear I have no clue."

"Well I…I-I don't, I mean…it's just that~," he couldn't even finish one word he said. "Never mind."

"Well, Roma, I can only tell you one thing," Spain said with the usual grin. "I certainly will miss you this time I leave." He walked back into the closet. God, how long was Spain going to be in that tight-spaced room? Roma just sighed slowly and looked into his diary at what he wrote.

_I guess that if I was him and he was me, I'd feel just upset about this as he is right now, _he wrote. _I know I really can get frustrated for my own stupidity, if you'll believe it. I'm not really going to miss him a whole bunch, but I'm not going to forget him. Well, I mean I'm gonna try to not to forget about this guy. But here's the real truth about it. You see, in all the years me and Spain have spent together, my feelings have always felt like…_

"What the hell are you looking at, stupid?" Romano snapped realizing that Spain was over his shoulder soaking in most of the text he'd written. He stepped back and held up his hands.

"So sorry, it's really nothing," he gestured and smirked to himself as he turned away, trying his best not to embarrass the smaller man. Romano tried to write some more, but he looked back to watch out for the Spaniard again.

_That Spain is faster than I thought, _Roma thought to himself. _Holy shit, he almost found out all the things I wrote about him. N-not that I really care or anything, but it's just so embarrassing! Now I think I'm gladder when he leaves because then, I'll have all the damn time to myself. Right now, if I'm really quick, I think I can…_

"Did you really spend all the longest time you were writing in that journal thinking and writing about me?" Spain smiled as he saw Roma slightly open the book again.

"Shut the hell up!" he said. "Mind your own business."

"Okay, okay," Spain said chuckling. "I'm sure going to miss your stubbornness while I'm gone, and when you blush so hard like that, so cute!" Romano groaned as he heard that his own cheeks had unintentionally turned to a dark shade of red. Unexpectedly, he felt the air knocked out of him as the Spaniard came back to cover him in hugs and yell out something really dumb.

"I'm going to miss you! I'll miss you! I'll miss you so much! I mean sure this hasn't really been worked out at all, but still! I can't wait to see you again when I get back! Oh, Roma, did I mention that I'm going to miss you a whole lot on my trip?" he yelled into the quiet air. While the angry Italian was yelling back at him, trying to shut him up.

"What the hell are you doing, bastard?! GET OFF ME! Ow! God dammit! Shut up, stupid! Owwwww! HEY! DON'T TOUCH ME THERE!" The man let go of him and pat his head calmly, and all Roma tried to do was catch his breath.

Well, the smaller dude was really going to miss all this attention he got, considering the fact that no one really treated him like _this _but the one that was about to leave. But his mind remained confused about his true feeling. Did he really feel the same way? Was he not playing Spain and trying to break his heart? Does Spain really know how he felt just by reading the journal he wrote in? Is Spain really going to miss him that much? But most of all…will Romano be just fine without Spain to take care of him and watch over him and care for him and make sure he didn't make any mistakes like he already has? He didn't know, and right now, he felt like it really wasn't necessary to care at the moment. He just knew that he needed to get all the peace, comfort, and relaxation while it lasts before the damned loudmouth came back to ruin his life like he has millions of times.


	6. Chapter 6

Life was boring outside of the people's houses. If you looked closely from where you were standing, you could see Gilbird flying away freely without the annoying Prussia chasing after it. That was a good thing, poor little Gilbird needed a new life, in fact, it needed a life in general.

Actually, things weren't as bad anymore. Maybe it was because it wasn't Monday or Tuesday, or Wednesday or Thursday. Maybe it was because summer was finally ending and it would be autumn, which was the most favorable season of the year. Or maybe it was just that everyone had decided to stop wallowing in self pity and had gone outside for once.

Well, the younger people were the ones that had definitely gone outside after two long months. Latvia was one of them, along with his "little brother" Sealand. Both were walking around with Latvia holding a soccer ball and bouncing it up and down while they both walked calmly around the green area.

"So, have you heard the news about Lithuania?" Latvia told him.

"Yeah, and I feel really bad for him." Sealand replied.

"Why? He's probably never been happier in his life because of that whole thing!" Latvia said.

"I know, I know, but it's just that…you know, it's _her_." Sealand told him.

"Yeah, well…oh well," Latvia shrugged. "He's not mo brother, I really don't have a right to judge."

"Why are we walking around this area?" Sealand said, finally deciding to change the subject. "Why don't we do something else that's actually fun?"

"Nooo, no way we are not doing that again."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not gonna fall for your lame tricks that could get us both into a lot of trouble again," Latvia explained. "Remember what happened last time?" Sealand gestured.

"That's okay, we'll blame Estonia this time," Sealand told him. "We'll tell my daddy that Estonia let us go out without even noticing we were gone."

"You really think that your dad is gonna believe you on that one?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't he?"

"Uh, maybe it's because he's a lot smarter than you, and right away he notices when you're trying to be sneaky or hide something important, and you didn't get away with something like this last time, for God's sake!"

"Oh _last time, last time, _who cares about the last time we did this?" Sealand yelled at him. "This time, we can still get away with wandering about, maybe we could go say hi to the neighboring countries, and climb over some fence and see what's on the other side. Ooh, maybe we could try to swim the Atlantic or Pacific! Hell! We can do lots of things out here without any adults around! And I'll still be home in time so I won't be grounded." Latvia rolled his eyed while he listened to those plans of the younger boy's. Did he really believe himself? Was he even listening to exactly what he said right at that moment? Latvia didn't want to give in to his daring plans, but he quickly changed his mind as he remembered that Finland and Estonia had both put him in charge of Sealand whenever they were out. Finland had no idea exactly what Sealand and Latvia did outside of his house, but he was too naïve to really think negative about the boys.

"Nope. I'm not gonna do it." Latvia told him. When you spend all the time you have hanging out with a bad boy that likes to get into all this trouble and risk his own life, your vocabulary starts to slip, real bad. Like, people ain't gonna understand ya anymore.

"We have to, c'mon."

"I don't care how easy or hard it is, I'm not gonna get grounded."

"Why you so worried?"

"'Cause I don't wanna get in trouble!" Latvia told him. "Don't you understand?"

"Race you to the end of the forest!" Sealand dashed away, totally ignoring what Latvia had to say. He ran after him, yelling to him that he never agreed on this and he was going to be upset at him for a while when they got back home.

**~ (^_^) ~**

"You…idiot," Latvia said panting when he caught up to his friend.

"Oh, look, you finally decided to join me here." Sealand told him.

"Shut up," Latvia was really impatient now. "Where are we anyway?"

They looked around, but saw nothing but black and purplish colors in the distance.

"Who cares?" Latvia looked at him, like he felt like he wanted to just abandon him here in this forest.

"I don't have to say it, right?"

"Say what?" Sealand was pushing Latvia's buttons a little too far and not at all in a good way.

"Ohhh, this must be the scary place everyone's been talking about," he said. "It's not that bad."

"We don't know that," Latvia tried telling him. "This place could be full of bears, foxes, wolves, and everything!"

"Then why aren't we seeing any?"

"Well, we haven't gone that far yet."

"Exactly, so we should just continue along the path and if this place is filled with vermin, we can go back home where it's safe."

"Yes! That's exactly…" the older boy paused. "Wait, you don't really mean that, do you?"

"Nope, now come on, while it's still daylight." Sealand said already ahead of him.

Latvia was lagging behind the younger boy. He kept turning his head to be more cautious of where they were headed, and he'd turn his body around and walk in reverse while he watched behind them to see if anyone had gone to look for them. Sealand had no fear at all; he just walked straight and just kept his eyes focused on where he was walking, imagining he was out somewhere in the ocean, sailing on his piece of land out to the open seas.

"Can we go back now?" Latvia asked. "I'm tired and I'm thirsty and my feet hurt and my arms hurt."

"We've only been walking for five minutes and already you're starting to complain?" Sealand said. "Wait 'til we get to someplace interesting, we can both go get something to drink." The older boy groaned in frustration.

"Fine, where are we going, Sealand?"

"Somewhere, that's _where_." he responded impolitely.

"You know what?" Latvia took two seconds after he said that harsh quote. "I'm just not gonna say anything, that's that."

"Okay, that's fine with me," Sealand told him. "Your annoying speech is making this trip less fun." Latvia rolled his eyes and thankful that the boy didn't see that.

_I could be at home right now, you know, _he thought. _I probably should be home instead of going through this whole situation with this brat. I could be reading a very good book, or even getting a glass of water and sitting on a comfortable chair. Nooo, I had to be in charge with the most idiotic person I've ever met! _

_Look on the bright side, _another voice in his head told him. _At least you have someone here to actually care about you coming with him. For all we know, he could've totally ignored you and gone to get himself in as much drama as he wanted. Remember how you said that you wanted siblings? Well, Sealand is like your little brother. _

_So what? _he told the voice. _I _did _want siblings, but not the ones that don't listen to their older brother and ignore the rules and think they can do whatever they please! And you know exactly how I feel about walking through this stupid place where anything bad can happen. I really am not enjoying it._

_You just keep thinking those negative thoughts and we'll both see how you'll end up. Just be the responsible one and you'll be fine. _

The older nation slapped his forehead and made himself get it all back together. He could do this. The thoughts of homicidal beings and creepy crawling things are over. He could go through this whole thing now. After all, he was the more mature one.

"Hey! This looks pretty interesting!" Latvia snapped awake and he saw Sealand disappear into a bunch of trees.

"Hey, wait!" the older said walking closer. "Don't run away without me!"

What was so cool and interesting about what seemed to be an ancient cave, or a small opening that used to be there in those rocks? Could it be a secret entryway to another dimension? Could there be a mystical creature living in these boulders? Latvia didn't know. But whatever Latvia thought was plain and boring and everything he didn't have any interest in at all, Sealand thought of it as amazing and cool and probably the best thing in the world. Somehow, that random difference in the two boys had always brought the best in their friendship. Because of that young child, Latvia had never noticed all that he was missing.

"Um, w-what am I supposed to be…looking at?" he said.

"Don't you see it?" Sealand said gesturing his hands towards the plain stone.

"See what?" The boys both looked at it for a while.

"Is this is?" Sealand said.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the one that everyone recognizes," he said. "Is this is?"

"I…have no idea what you're talking about." Latvia said.

"Latvia, do you realize what this means?"

The older raised an eyebrow.

"It means we're the first ones to find out what this thing really is!" Sealand said clapping his hands. "I can't wait!"

_Maybe I should inspect it, first_, thought Latvia. He took the chance to walk around the rock looking at it and making sure there were no dangerous objects or animals around it. So far, there was only dirt, dead bugs, and slightly developed weeds. Nothing more. So it was all right for him. There wasn't anything to be afraid of, or eve something bad to predict. Latvia sighed in relief and thought of how happy he was right at that moment.

"AHHHHH, DUDE HELP ME!" he heard Sealand yell. He turned swiftly and saw Sealand on the floor with a thick chain wrapped around him. He tossed and turned and tried to wiggle himself out of it, but it was way too heavy. Sealand was starting to turn blue from lack of air. The chain was mostly wrapped around his neck and on his noodle arms. He looked like he was…_dying_. Not good!

"AH! SEALAND! I'LL SAVE YOU!" Latvia yelled back and ran up to him. He was struggling to lift up the chain from Sealand's neck. He looked as if he was going to pass out. Finally, with a strong force, Latvia managed to pull the giant thing off of him. Sealand was panting very heavily and his eyes were closed. That boy looked unconscious.

"Sealand?" Latvia said kneeling next to his head. "Y-you okay? Oh, crap, I'm in trouble now! Sealand's dead! Oh, I should've never let this happen! He was so young! And I'm just…I'm just…I-I just…what will Finland say? What will anyone say? That I'm a horrible brother? I'm very irresponsible? That I deserve a punishment!?" He ran, circling his arms and shouting. Who knows where he thought he was going now.

The only sound that was heard in the forest was the sound of Sealand's sly and sneaky laughter.

"Sucker! He actually fell for it!" Sealand said laughing and standing himself up. "Now I can get some real business done without any interruptions."

Sealand didn't know what to do with the broken giant chain, he just saw that it was all rusted and had snapped apart. Where was its missing half? The boy looked around for the half that had disappeared from this part. Then he stopped before continuing his search. He turned his head towards the giant stone that had nothing else but cracks and moss growing on it. It was a really big boulder. If it broke apart, it would fall on someone's head and kill them in an instant. But…if this really was the right place everyone made rumors about, then wasn't there supposed to be something that would attract everyone's attention attached to it or even next to it? How could something so huge and close to being wildly popular just vanish into thin air like that? Rumors were almost always just something that people liked to spread around to get into everyone's head. But this…this was something that people wouldn't go crazy about.

"Maybe this isn't the right spot." the boy told himself. "It could be anywhere; this is a pretty big forest." As Sealand began to take tiny steps and go even further into the place, a light bulb had popped in his head.

_Wait, what about Latvia? _the message said to him. _It's important for him to know that I'm not dead or unconscious. It wouldn't be right for him to receive a punishment when I was only joking. _

So he stayed. And all he could do now was wait. Wait for something to happen…


	7. Chapter 7

Britain was being boring right now as he stared outside the living room window thinking for a while. He wasn't sad or upset anymore, he was just tired and lazy and he was starting to gain some weight around his belly. That meant that he really didn't have the right to criticize America about his fattening diet anymore. Time was passing by and it was getting closer to the late 20th century. Pretty soon, new ideas for the brand new inventions will be created and become the most popular things in the world. It was hard for people like Britain to keep up when everything was suddenly changing so much. It's not like anybody really cared or even bothered to pay any attention to the one that weren't ahead of them. The Brit didn't seem to care either. He just thought that as long as everyone was happy with another "new world" evolving, he should just go with it and see where it takes him. By now, he was trying his best to see his imaginary brothers again, especially Flying Mint Bunny.

"Reading is lame," he said to himself. "Flying Mint Bunny wouldn't ever let me feel so bored on a bright day like this."

If only he had some sort of way to contact others without having to go up to their front door or write a long letter to them.

"Besides, who would ever waste their time to walk all the way up to my front door?" he asked himself. "No one ever visits my house…well, I mean no one that I actually want to see."

Whether it was Britain's douche-y attitude or his lack of social skill, he remained living by himself with not even a brother to talk to. His house was colder, the rooms were darker, and the trees around his home were turning brown and orange faster than the others in other countries. The streets downtown were pretty empty and people were mostly grouchy all the time and the only good place to get together was at a public library. And yet, with all this gloominess and grey and unsatisfying people, Britain still had a smile on his face as he sat there on one of his chairs staring outside the windows.

"Life could still be rich," he said. "It'll turn out all right, I'm sure of it."

Britain looked down at his bare legs and grinned at the dark jeans lying on the floor in front of him. He continue to stare at the piece of clothing as he took a sip of the stinging, alcoholic liquid in the tiny cup he held in his right hand. That's exactly what it was. By drinking this unnecessary type of drink and stripping off his clothing while he was by himself in his house, he was sure to have forgotten everything. It was beginning to have an effect on himself and his personality. He wasn't the "gentleman" he always reminded himself he was. He started buying beers and cigarettes and once in a while, he'd step outside half-naked for the while world to see. Sure, Britain was kind of an ass in reality, but this? This was way worse than that. Poor old chap. What would become of him in the future?

If anyone ever found out about his nasty habits, it would destroy him. That Brit was depressed enough just to be by himself and talking to himself for no one else to listen. It would be the most mortifying thing ever.

"Maybe I should go clean myself." he said standing up, continuing to take small sips of the drink before tossing it in the sink where it had almost shattered to pieces.

He entered his clean bathroom and closed and locked the door. Britain removed his shirt and boxers and turned on the shower handle to high. As he stepped inside and felt the hot water warm up his temperature, he closed his eyes and let his hands run all over his torso as he smelled the stench of his own betrayal fade away.

Britain was enjoying himself in that shower. Moaning very loudly and making these weird noises when he was washing his private areas. Somebody ought to hear him and remind him that he left the small window in his bathroom wide open. That's why when that British dude was singing to himself about who knows what, he almost jumped when someone was knocking repetitively on the bathroom door…in his house.

Britain quickly turned off the shower and grabbed the towel sitting on the toilet next to him and wrapped it around his waist.

"Um, who is it?" he said, hiding the feeling of aggravation.

"You know who, someone who just felt like walking into your open house," the person said. "Why would you leave your damn door unlocked?" Britain scoffed.

"Well, it's probably because I was sitting in the living room, doing absolutely _nothing_ and I just decided to jump in to take a quick shower." he said.

"You know there's a loose pair of pants on the floor?" the person continued. "And a giant stain on your carpet?"

"Um…yes, I did."

"And the whole room smells like toxic waste?"

"Yepp."

"Have you been drinking _again_?"

"Only for a little bit…" The person hesitated before continuing.

"Britain, that's the fifth time this week," the voice said. "Is this seriously all the kind of crap you do when you're home alone? Drink, strip yourself naked and ruin everyone else's lives?"

"Shut up," Brit replied. "You know how it is. I don't got no life anymore, or even a simple job to do, and besides, I…"

"Man, if you don't got any life anymore, why d'you think everyone still remembers you as the "British Bastard"?" the guy said.

"What?" Brit said. "I've known those people for years and I have never heard them say one word about that shit. It's like America's obsession with his own self; no one calls him the "hero" ever."

"Oh yeah, how could I forget that?"

"Look, we're coming in closer to the future way too fast for me to live out this boring life I have," Britain said. "Getting wasted is the least of my problems. Just think about all the judgmental people out there just waiting for another victim to fall under the annoying criticism they use against you. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to deal with that, because clearly, I…" He was interrupted, finally, by a loud beeping noise coming from behind the door.

"Oh, sorry dude, I gotta run." the guy ran off out the front door, coming back after remembering to lock it since the owner didn't.

"Wait!" the Brit yelled out the window. "Why'd you come here? What was it that you were gonna tell me?!" No answer. Britain grabbed another towel off the rack and wrapped it around his drenched head. He took a quick peak outside the bathroom.

"Huh, well that was random," he said to himself. "I didn't even know who the hell that was anyway."

**~ (^_^) ~**

Earlier that same day, Finland was settling down at his partner's house folding clothes and cleaning up all the cobwebs that started to form on the corners of the walls.

"There, that's done!" he said. "Now I just have to wait for the boys to come back home. I sure hope they're all right." Then he blushed and turned his head to face the dishes he was now cleaning as Sweden walked down the stairs. Apparently, he wasn't feeling tired at all like usual. He was well rested, fresh and clean from his morning shower. Finland could hear him pausing for a brief second to stare at him and watch him wash the rest of the dishes. The Finn turned his head so slowly to glance and smile shyly at his partner.

"Oh, h-hi, Mr. Sweden," he said, his mouth becoming dry. "Wonderful day we're having, isn't it?" Sweden only nodded in reply. He raised his brow at the sight of the large pile of dirty dishes placed right in front of the Finn and the damp and soapy sponge in his right hand.

"Oh, I decided to wash these dishes," he responded to him. "J-just so you wouldn't have to do them yourself…" Finland was starting to feel nervous and his face was hot.

"'Kay, thank you." he responded to the younger one. There was an awkward silence between the two, and Finland was getting even more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Actually, as he finished his task, he soon came to realize that the Swede didn't have that tough facial expression he wore all the time. He might even be…smiling at the moment. No one has ever seen that side of Sweden except for the one that always had stuck by his side ever since that faithful day when they were both traveling away from that antagonizing Dane. Finland sighed as he relaxed his hands on the edge of the counter. He turned his head and saw that Sve had moved to another place so that he could secretly "spy" on him and everything he did that morning. But he didn't see him, so he thought that the coast was clear for him to walk to the room he called the "library" and take a peek at the titles and covers of the ancient literature engraved on them.

He paced from one bookshelf to another, examining every book and tracing his fingers along the printed words on the spines. A novel that was about two shelves above him had caught his eye and made him stop to study it. Now he wished that he was just about as tall as Sweden was, or maybe even taller than that. He stretched his arm as far above his head as he could, whimpering as he bit his tongue and struggled some more. Finny was just about to give up when something appeared behind him, and the person was so close to him that he could feel the man's chest touching his chilled back. He couldn't look now, or he'd freeze up. The man stretched his arm only half the length of Finny's arm span and grabbed the book off the shelf.

"Oh, um…t-thank you, Su-san," he said as the Swede handed him the book from behind. "I'll be careful with this old thing. I really love this book. Don't you love it?" Sweden shrugged. Finland sighed and stared at the blank walls in thought.

"I remember the very first time I picked up this book, it was such a long time ago," he told him. "I was so happy I picked it up, it was so amazing! Anyway, about a long time ago, I remember the first time I saw that little kid running around the grasslands, and I also remember that that time when we were both beaten up in America, and when our houses were both taken away. And then that time when we were escaping Mr. Denmark's house, and that time when we were sleeping next to each other in the cold and…" He stopped as he saw Mr. Sweden's eyes widening a bit as how much he wanted to remember at that specific time sequence.

"Oh well, it…really doesn't matter anymore," he said turning to face his partner. "I guess I'll be in the living room, reading this very magnificent book." Finland walked off, leaving the Swedish man hanging, and he shook his head.

**~ (^_^) ~**

Sealand raised his brow, deep in his thoughts about how he was going to figure this whole thing out. It could be more than just a boulder. It looked like a piece of rock, felt like a piece of rock, and maybe it could even taste like a piece of rock, but of course, the young boy had decided to use his little imagination to make this a lot more interesting. He'd hoped that his friend would come back and join him in this investigation.


End file.
